Rack member



y 1958 c. w. NESSELRODT 7 2,841,210

- RACK MEMBER Filed y 1955 v 2 Shee ts-Sheet 1 INVENTOR CARL W.' NESSELRODT BY MqLM ATTORNEYS July 1, 1958 c. w. NESSELRODT RACK MEMBER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 18, 1955 vn mm HMWWH INVENTOR CARL w. NESSELRODT ATTORNEYS 2,841,210 RACK MEMBER Carl W. Nesselrodt, Winchester, Va. Application May 18, 1955, Serial No. 509,240

1 Claim. (Cl. 155-188) v This invention relates to rack members and more particularly to an easily detachable rack member for attachment to a chair or the like.

In connection with the conduct of meetings of various kinds, and more particularly in connection with church services, it is frequently desirable to have support rack means for holding books and the like, such as hymn books and prayer books in a convenient place adjacent the place where the participants or worshippers are seated. In many churches, collapsible, removable chairs are used in place of permanently installed pews. In such case, a greater problem arises in connection with providing a readily accessible means of support for the religious books used by the worshippers during the service. So far as i know, there is not presently availableon the market a support rack adapted for use with individual chairs, particularly of the folding chair type.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an economical and easily installed support rack for books and the like adapted to be detachably connected to the back of a'chair. t

It is a further object of this invention to provide a support rack for books and the like particularly suitable for attachment to the back of a chair or the like.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide an easily detachable support rack for connection to the back of a church seat which is adapted to support a communion cup holder.

In achievement of these objectives, an embodiment of this invention provides a support rack including a pair of longitudinally spaced bracket members formed of a thin rod or wire-like material, preferably metal. A shelf member extends between and is connected to each of the oppositely disposed bracket members. Each of the bracket members is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed end portions which are adapted to engage the back of aconventional folding chair. An elongated plate-like communion cup holder is also provided and is adapted to be supported by the shelf carried by the brackets.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a chair provided with a support rack in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the support rack of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view in vertical section illustrating the manner of attachment of the rack to the back of a chair;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the rack member of the I invention detached from the chair; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a communion cup holder adapted to be supported by the rack of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings and mre particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown a conventional folding chair generally indicated at including a tubular support 12 of generally U shape which defines the front legs of the chair at its lower portion and which defines the back of the chair above the level of the chair seat. Tubular support 12 I United States atent curves at its upper end as indicated at 14. A back panel 16 is suitably connected between the opposite sides of tubular support 12 at the upper or curved end thereof. Panel 16 extends downwardly for a portion of the distance toward the chair seat and terminates in a lip portion 18, best seen in Fig. 3, which extends between the opposite sides of tubular frame-12. At its upper end, panel 16 is provided with a curved lip portion 20 (Fig. 3) which is adapted to engage the inner surface of the curved tubular portion 14.

The support rack of the invention is generally indicated at 22 and includes a pair of similar oppositely disposed spaced bracket members generally indicated at 24 and 26. Each of the bracket members 24, 26 is preferably formed of a single length of thin rod-like or wire-like metal, which is bent into substantially U shape. Thus, as best seen in Fig. 4, bracket 24 includes upper and lower horizontal legs 28 and 30 connected-by a vertical portion 32. The outer end of upper horizontal arm 28 is bent into the shape of an eyelet indicated at 34 while the wire or rod is bent vertically downwardly at the outer end of lower horizontal leg 30 to define a vertical portion 36.

Bracket member 26 is similar to bracket 24 and includes upper and lower horizontal legs 38 and 40 and a connecting vertical leg 42. The outer end of the upper horizontal leg 38 of bracket 26 is provided with an eyelet 44 and the outer end of the lower horizontal leg 40 of bracket 26 is provided with a downwardly extending vertical portion 46; A cross rod 48 extends between the upper ends of the vertical legs 32 and 42 slightly below the level of the upper horizontal arms 28 and 38, cross rod 48 being welded or otherwise suitably attached to the vertical leg portions 32 and 42. A second cross rod 50 extends between the lower portions of vertical legs 32 and 42 at a distance approximately one-fourth of the total height of the vertical legs above the lower horizontal legs 30 and 40.

A shelf member, generally indicated at 52, extends between brackets 24 and 26, shelf 52 being formed from a single piece of metal which is bent to provide a horizontal portion 54 and a vertical portion 56. The horizontal portion 54 is provided at each of its opposite longitudinal ends with a flap-like portion which extends lengthwise beyond the remaining portions of the shelf and which are adapted to be rolled around the lower horizontal arms 30 and 40 of the respective bracket members 24 and 26, as indicated at 58. The forward edge of horizontal shelf portion 54 is curved at its intermediate portion as indicated at (Figs. 3 and 4) to allow ample clearance for the curvature of back panel 16 on the chair. The upper edge of vertical shelf portion 56 is surved or rolled about the lateral cross rod 50 as indicated at 62 in Fig. 2.

The support rack is positioned on the back of the chair it} by inserting the downwardly extending portions 36 and 46 of the respective brackets 24 and 26 into the upwardly open lip 18 provided at the lower edge of panel 16 on the chair, and by fastening the outer ends of upper horizontal legs 28 and 38 to the lip 20 carried at the upper end of panel 16 by means of screws 64 passing through eyelets 34 and 44 and into the lip portion 20. Screws 64 may also pass inwardly into the curved portion 14 of the tubular frame 10. g

The shelf hereinbefore described when installed on a seat used for church services may be used for supporting prayer books, bibles, hymnals, or other similar books and materials commonly used in connection with church services. In addition, a communion cup holder generally indicated at 64 may also be supported by the rack member. As will best be seen in Fig. 4, the communion cup holder is an elongated plate-like member having an overall length which substantially conforms to the width of the lower end of panel lfiladjacent lip 18. Since the longitudinal spacing between lower horizontal legs 30 and 40 of the brackets 24 and 26 is less than the width of chair panel-16 at this level, the end portions of the communion cup holder 64 extend beyond the lower horizontal arms ,30 and 40 of the rack. The projecting portions which extend beyond arms 30 and 40 contain circular apertures 66, each of which is adapted to receive and support a communion cup used in connection with the church service.

The forward edge 68 of the communion cup holder is curved as best seen in Figs. 2 and 5, the curvature of edge 68 preferably being such as to conform closely to the curvature of the abutting surface of panel 16 of the chair. The opposite tip ends 70 and 72 of the communion plate holder are spaced apart a distance such that the tips 70 and 72 abut the inner surfaces of opposite portions of the tubular framework 12 of the chair. The rear edge 74 of the communion plate holder is adapted to lie closely adjacent the lower end of the vertical portion 56 of shelf 52. It will thus be seen that the communion cup holder 64 is so dimensioned relative to the chair and the support rack that it is securely yet detachably retained in place by the butting surfaces of these members after once having been properly positioned as shown in the drawings.

It can be seen from the foregoing that there is provided in accordance with this invention a support rack which is adapted for attachment to the back of a chair, such as a folding chair, and which is particularly useful for holding articles such as hymn books, prayer books, and the like, used in connected with church services. The support rack of the invention is made up of relatively few parts and can be very easily installed, particularly on conventional folding chairs. The support rack is also adapted to support a communion cup holder which is detachably positioned on the rack member with- 2,s41,21o"- V out the use of fastening .means of any kind but is securely held in place by theabutting surfaces of the rack and of the associated chair.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention and, therefore, it is aimed to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

In combination, a chair having a curved back, a pair of spaced bracket members attached to the back of the chair, a shelf extending between said brackets, said shelf including a vertical shelf portion spaced from the back of the chair and a horizontal shelf portion extending toward the back of the chair from the vertical shelf portion, said horizontal shelf portion having one edge curved to conform to the curvature of the curved back of the chair, an elongated plate-like cup holder disposed on said horizontal shelf portion, said elongated cup holder having one edge curved to conform to the curvature of the curved back of the chair, said cup holder being retained in substantially abutting relation between the back of the chair and the vertical shelf portion, end portions on said cup holder extending longitudinally beyond the vertical shelf portion, and means on each of said end portions for receiving a cup.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,403,815 Ohaver Jan. 17, 1922 1,741,928 Gafney Dec. 31, 1929 2,505,898 Jafie et al. May 2, 1950 2,518,549 Hyde Aug. 15, 1950 2,620,019 Merrill et al. Dec. 2, 1952 2,706,516 Nordmark Apr. 19, 1955 2,706,517 Dexter et al. Apr- 19, 1955 

